Page 77 of Quintus

“He’s right,” Samantha agreed.

“We all went to Ilsbeth at one time or another,” Kade said. “You play with fire, you get burnt.”

“Speak for yourself. Dimitri may have played with witchy woman but not me,” Hunter said.

“I recall a few nights I’ve seen her in your arms,” Kade challenged.

“Hold the train, vamp.” Hunter held his palms upward. “I may have danced with her a hundred years ago…” He turned to Gabriella and shrugged. “And by that I mean…really it was over a hundred years ago. I was a wolf sowing my oats. And Ilsbeth? She’s some exotic hot magic all right. But dancing is a whole lot different than fucking, and I steered way clear of that mess.”

“Jesus,” Quintus shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Ilsbeth has been around a long time and she’s not going down without a fight. The last time we saw her, I’ll admit I almost believed her little ‘my name is Zella act’ right up until she did that channeling thing she did. That was pure Ilsbeth. Her magick was there. Now to Samantha’s point, I’m not sure she’s a coldblooded killer. She’s misguided for sure. I know you wolves will argue she tried to kill Dimitri, but she doesn’t generally go after someone without reason. The issue is that she’s fucking gone.”

“I’m sorry. We did the best we could. I’m telling you that there was no way she could have gotten out on her own,” Samantha said.

“We’ll deal with Ilsbeth later. Right now, we need your help figuring what to do with the first witch’s bone and more importantly, how to kill Lilitu.”

“We also have a little problem with Mao. She’s his ex,” Hunter added. “She’s a sort of zombie vampire thing. We’re not exactly sure but Absinthe, the good witch of New York, gave her as a gift to the big guy here. Demon was involved.”

“Another demon?” Samantha asked, her surprise apparent in her tone. “And he’s out?”

“Si. His name’s Thorn. He’s a half-breed so not the regular kind.” Quintus scrubbed his chin, frustrated. The more he spoke the worse it sounded but the situation was what it was. “Mao. She was…I was partially bonded with her, but I’m not anymore.”

“A pixiu, correct?” Samantha asked.

“But I saw her die. This thing. It’s not Mao.”

“We’ve completed the bond,” Gabriella confessed. “I bear his mark.”

“There’s no way we could have bonded if Mao was still alive. She looked real. But it wasn’t her. My best guess is that she’s a Jiangshi. My brother Viktor was watching her. Like with Ilsbeth, I had wards set but she escaped. Thorn claims he found her in Hell, but I suspect that she was put there as bait.”

“You trust this demon?” Kade asked.

“Hell no,” Quintus answered.

“Where’s your brother?” Samantha asked.

“That’s the fifty-million-dollar question now, isn’t it? The last I talked to him he was supposed to call Thorn and then get his ass down here. I specifically told him not to look for Mao, but I’m worried he went after her.”

“I haven’t heard from him,” Kade said.

Quintus glanced at his phone, noting his previous message had gone unread. Although concerned about him, he redirected the conversation. “We need help with the bone. How to use it.”

“The bones of the high priestess of a coven can kill her successors. So as you can imagine, they are usually well hidden. Only a few witches are trusted with the entombment of a body. Sometimes there is agreement to have it burned upon death,” Samantha told them. “Our covens are beautiful mystical places, where sisters and brothers learn and practice magick. But every now and then we have an outlier.”

“Lilitu,” Gabriella whispered, her eyes drawn to the dark cloud forming in the sky.

“Circe has had a reputation for years, but you must understand, witches mind their own. Ilsbeth was unusually active in other cities. She often traveled to New York, Philadelphia, Vegas. She was somewhat of a free spirit. A very powerful one. She didn’t play well with others. While witches like Absinthe tolerated her presence in their sandbox, they only did so out of fear.”

“What about everyone else?” Gabriella asked.

“Circe is known as purist. Much like my husband.” She paused and glanced to Luca and Kate playing in the grass, a smile blooming in her eyes. “He was quite a purist when I met him. He didn’t like humans. Didn’t care for witches either. Wolves have their purists as well.”

“It’s true. Some frown upon hybrids. Most of the time, packs are open minded but not all,” Hunter added.

“Some covens, they very much want to keep their circle tight. They won’t accept anyone but pure witches. Our coven here in New Orleans is open to others, ones who aren’t deemed pure. Although my magick is more powerful than the other witches in our coven, I wasn’t born a witch. There was a period of adjustment when I joined. I’m human. I’m engaged to a vampire. My child is hybrid. I know for a fact there are people who don’t agree I should be here.” Samantha sighed and brushed a thick red lock of hair from her eyes. “My point is that we can’t take on other covens and their issues. I’m truly sorry about your parents. But if you have the right artifact, you have a chance of setting things straight.”

“When I held it, I could sense the energy. It was…” Gabriella shivered, “surreal.”

“Who has the bone?” Samantha asked.